Poland buckled up for an intense Euro 2024 in Germany with heavyweights France, Netherlands and spirited Austria to face in Group D. The Eagles are desperate to avoid finishing bottom in their group like the last Euros and put up a fight to have a chance at the knockouts. The squad relies on their stars, Piotr Zieliński and Robert Lewandowski, to deliver the goods but also has young talents to make a difference. Poland will begin their campaign on Sunday, 16 June 2024 with the first group stage match against the Dutch at Hamburg.
History
Poland has appeared in four European Championships since making their debut in 2008, 48 years after the tournament was formed. The team finished in last place without securing any wins in three Euro campaigns. However, the 2016 edition became the standout campaign as they reached the quarterfinal stage. More significantly, Poland remained unbeaten throughout the campaign in regular time and picked up their first two wins in the tournament history in the group stages. Managed by Adam Nawałka, the side also drew with group winners Germany and ousted Switzerland from the last-16 stage in a penalty shootout. The Eagles took the lead against Portugal in the quarterfinals but failed to sustain it and eventually lost on penalties. Poland failed to reach the highs again as they finished bottom in the group stage of the next Euros.
Qualification to Euro 2024
The qualifying campaign was not ideal for Michał Probierz’s team as they finished outside of the top two in their group behind Czech Republic and surprise winners Albania. Poland picked up just three wins in the campaign but made it to the Euro playoffs due to their result in the Nations League. After thrashing Estonia 5-1 in the semifinals, the team met against Wales in the playoff final. The Eagles beat them 5-4 on penalties after Wojciech Szczęsny made the decisive save to send them to Germany. The Juventus goalkeeper also kept out Daniel James’ penalty at the death, becoming the ultimate hero behind their qualification. Poland is also bringing winning momentum to the tournament after motivating victories against Ukraine and Turkey respectively.
Poland squad for Euro 2024
Goalkeepers: Wojciech Szczęsny (Juventus), Łukasz Skorupski (Bologna), Marcin Bułka (Nice)
Defenders: Bartosz Salamon (Lech Poznań), Paweł Dawidowicz (Hellas Verona), Sebastian Walukiewicz (Empoli), Jan Bednarek (Southampton), Jakub Kiwior (Arsenal), Tymoteusz Puchacz (FC Kaiserslautern), Bartosz Bereszyński (Empoli, on loan from Sampdoria), Bogdan Racovițan (Raków)
Midfielders: Jakub Piotrowski (Ludogorets), Jakub Moder (Brighton), Piotr Zieliński (Napoli), Kamil Grosicki (Pogoń Szczecin), Taras Romanczuk (Jagiellonia Białystok), Damian Szymański (AEK Athens), Przemysław Frankowski (Lens), Sebastian Szymański (Fenerbahçe), Nicola Zalewski (Roma), Bartosz Slisz (Atlanta United), Michał Skóraś (Club Brugge), Kacper Urbański (Bologna)
Forwards: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), Adam Buksa (Antalyaspor), Krzysztof Piątek (İstanbul Başakşehir), Karol Świderski (Hellas Verona)
Captain: Robert Lewandowski
Manager: Michał Probierz
Poland has picked up some injury concerns in the last friendly against Turkey ahead of Euro 2024 with Karol Świderski spraining his ankle while celebrating his goal. Star striker Robert Lewandowski was also substituted with an injury concern but the manager Michał Probierz has insisted the Barcelona man will be fine before the tournament. Arkadiusz Milik also picked up a knee injury in a friendly against Ukraine, a game prior, ruling him out of Euro 2024.
Star Player: Robert Lewandowski
Lewandowski had another productive scoring campaign with 26 goals for Barcelona but failed to win any trophy this past season. He scored three goals in the qualifiers and is hopeful to have a productive Euros ahead although there will be few to share his duties in the tournament. It is a challenge not new to the six-foot-tall striker who scored every game he played in the last Euros and bagged two goals in four matches at the World Cup. The record-scorer for his country will be eager to add to his 81 tally and carry them to the knockouts.
Formation: How will Poland Lineup at Euro 2024?
Poland Fixtures for Euro 2024
Sunday, 16 June 2024
Poland vs Netherlands - Volksparkstadion, Hamburger (18:30)
Friday, 21 June 2024
Poland vs Austria - Olympiastadion, Berlin (21:30)
Tuesday, 25 June 2024
France vs Poland - Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund (21:30)
